As you file your taxes, you might be wondering if you can claim your parents as dependents.
Before you start crunching numbers, it’s important to understand the guidelines. Can you provide more than half of their financial support? Are they earning less than the income threshold? Are they U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or resident aliens? It’s time to find out if your parents are worth a tax break. It is always a good idea to find a tax filing service to rely on.
While the tax planning process can be complex, it is possible in some situations.
Claiming Someone as a Dependent
First, let’s define what it means to claim someone as a dependent. A dependent is someone who meets certain criteria that allows you to claim them on your tax return, which can result in a lower tax bill. These criteria include:
- Relationship: The person must be related to you in one of the following ways: child, parent, grandparent, sibling, step-sibling, or a descendant of any of these.
- Support: You must provide more than half of the person’s financial support during the year.
- Income: They must have gross income (taxable income) of less than $4,400 for the year.
- Filing status: The person cannot file a joint return with their spouse.
Now, let’s take a closer look at claiming step parents as dependents. The guidelines for claiming a parent as a dependent vary depending on whether they are your biological or adoptive parent, or whether they are your stepparent.
Claiming a Stepparent
If you are claiming a stepparent as a dependent, the guidelines are slightly different. To claim a stepparent, they must meet the following criteria:
- Relationship: The person must be your stepparent, and your biological or adoptive parent must not have provided more than half of their support during the year.
- Support: You must provide more than half of the person’s financial support during the year.
- Income: The person must earn less than a certain amount of income during the year, this amount is $4,400.
- Filing status: The person cannot file a joint return with their spouse.
- Citizenship: The person must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or resident alien.
It’s important to note that if your biological or adoptive parent provides more than half of the support for your stepparent during the year, you cannot claim your stepparent as a dependent.
Other Considerations
There are a few other things to keep in mind when claiming a parent as a dependent:
- Age: There is no age limit for claiming a parent as a dependent.
- Medical expenses: If you pay for more than half of your parent’s medical expenses, you may be able to claim those expenses as a deduction on your tax return.
- Multiple support: If multiple people provide support for your parent but no one person provides more than half, you may be able to claim your parent as a dependent through the multiple support agreement.
Conclusion
Claiming a stepparent as a dependent can be a bit more complicated than claiming a biological or adoptive parent, but it is still possible with online tax filing services.
It’s important to carefully review the guidelines and consider factors such as support and income, as well as any other special circumstances that may apply.
By navigating these guidelines, you can potentially reduce your tax bill while also providing support for your loved ones. Ultimately, if you have any questions or concerns about claiming your stepparent as a dependent, it’s always a good idea to seek guidance from a tax professional.